Mass Effect: ReGenesis
by Raidster
Summary: After a disastrous mission on Eden Prime, Shepard begins a mission to stop the Reapers at any cost. This is a reboot to the Mass Effect trilogy. Most aspects in the original franchise have been changed.


**_A/N: All right, to the first readers, sorry for forgetting to add the Notes at first, but I'm a little forgetful. Anyway, enjoy this first chapter of what I think will be a great novelization-ish fic, meant to tell the story of a document written by Arcian from the BioWare forums. If you want to know the plot in advance (which I sincerely hope you don't want to do) or if you want to know the basics, like timeline changes, and stuff, here's what you have to do._**

**_Go to BSN, head to the ME3 Character/Romance discussion, look for a thread that begins with 'The Enkindler Lives!', look for a post by Arcian (whose avatar is the 'Nope.' gif, look at the sig, click 'Arcian's Mass Effect Reboot', and then..._**

**_Enjoy!_**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Beginning of the End**

**Year: 2283**

"Well, we have only one option, if that's the case." A man said to two people. The man, named Donnel Udina, was impeccably dressed in a beige suit, his expresion one of deep thought. "Commander Shepard. He's got a rather notable career."

The two people talking to him through QEC, Captain David Anderson and Admiral Steven Hackett, were two of the most influent members of the Systems Alliance Navy. They heard Udina with interest as he justified his choice.

"Elysium, Akuze, Torfan... " Udina explained. "He's also very skilled in combat, biotics and tech, attributes that are undoubtedly essential for a soldier like him."

"Agreed." Captain Anderson replied. "He's the best option, without a doubt."

"He may have serious emotional scars." Hackett stepped in. "From Akuze."

"Name me any soldier who hasn't got physical or psychological scars." Anderson said back. "John Shepard is a survivor, a true survivor."

"Anderson's correct, Admiral." Udina agreed. "Shepard is a survivor, and he has an unquestionable courage."

"Exactly." Anderson stated. "Humanity will need a hero, and Shepard is that hero."

"Then, I will make the call." Udina said. "Goodbye."

He cut off the communication, both holograms fading quickly.

* * *

**Two Weeks Later**

**Location: SSV Normandy SR-1**

"The Arcturus Prime relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence." Jeff Moreau, the pilot, said in a professional tone.

The Normandy was filled with activity as it passed through Jupiter. It was the kind of activity that preceded a mission, be it a pick-up mission or a combat mission.

A lone man walked towards the bridge. He wore N7 Armor, an armor which easily identified him. He was one of the best soldiers humanity had to offer, another reason why he was one of the elite N7 soldiers. He passed through a young man, who greeted him. "Commander."

The man, Commander John Shepard, didn't reply.

"We are connected." Moreau, or Joker, as Shepard liked to call him, said as the ship passed through Neptune. "Calculating transit mass and destination."

Shepard had just passed by a slightly aged man who nodded at him, and was now approaching the cockpit.

"Board is green." Joker stated again. "Approach run has begun."

Shepard had arrived at the bridge, where a Turian in black and red armor was watching. A Turian Spectre, Nihlus Kryik was also sent to the Normandy to check on its shakedown run. Shepard was often questioning himself about why did the Council send one of their top agents to oversee the run.

"All stations secure for transit." Joker informed.

At that sentence, Shepard finally looked to his front, and spotted the Mass Relay supposed to take them to Eden Prime. As soon as they approached the Relay, a bright blue beam connected to the ship.

"Hitting the Relay in 3... 2... 1... "

The next instant, they weren't there anymore.

* * *

"Okay, so... " Joker finally spoke after the Relay jump took them to the Exodus Cluster. "Thrusters are good, as well as navigation."

"Good." Shepard replied.

"Got the internal emissions sink engaged, and all systems online. Drift's just under 1500K."

"Good." Nihlus said. "I'm sure your captain will be pleased."

He left the bridge to search for Anderson. Joker immediately turned back, and after a few seconds, he let out: "Have I _ever_ told you I hate that guy?"

Both Shepard and Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, the co-pilot, looked at him surprised.

"Now that's new." Shepard commented.

"Yeah." Kaidan replied. "That the first time I've seen Joker hating someone that complimented him."

"I'm sure both of you remember zipping up your jumpsuit while on your way out of the bathroom?" Joker asked, to which both Shepard and Kaidan nodded. "Good. So I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. Is that really incredible?"

"I'm not going to answer that." Kaidan replied.

"And it's fairly obvious that Spectres are trouble." Joker rambled. "You can call me paranoid if you want, but I don't like him on board."

"Paranoid." Kaidan retorted. "Just so that you know, the Council helped fund this project, and as such, they are allowed to send a Spectre to keep an eye on their investment."

"Which is the official story, Lieutenant!" Joker said. "Only an idiot believes it!"

"I agree with Joker." Shepard stepped in. "They only send Spectres on dangerous operations, not shakedown runs."

"I think there's more to this than the Captain's letting on." Joker continued.

Almost as if on cue, another voice rang through the bridge comms.

"Joker!" Captain Anderson's voice said. "Give me the status report."

"Mass Relay cleared, Captain." Joker reported. "Stealth systems engaged, and everything looks solid."

"Good." The Captain said. "Find a comm buoy, link us into the network. I want report relayed back to Alliance brass before reacing Eden Prime."

"Roger that, Captain, but you might want to brace yourself." The pilot joked. "Nihlus is coming for you."

"He's already here."

Kaidan looked at Joker with a grin on his face.

"Tell the Commander to meet me in the comm room for the debriefing." With that, the radio went silent.

"Heard that, Commander?" Joker asked.

"Yes. He's definitely not in a good mood." Shepard replied before going away.

"He's _always_ in a bad mood." Joker retorted.

"Only when he's talking to you." Kaidan replied.

Shepard was curious. _Why would Anderson debrief a shakedown run, anyway?_ He didn't know, but he hoped Joker was right. At least he would have some fun. Ignoring Pressly, the XO, who was talking with Engineer Greg Adams, and the casual talk between Dr. Chakwas and Corporal Richard Jenkins, he quickly entered the comm room. However, the sole occupant was Nihlus.

"Commander Shepard." Nihlus greeted. "I was actually hoping you'd get here first. It gives us a chance to talk."

"Before we talk, I want to know where Anderson is." Shepard replied.

"He'll come." Nihlus assured. "But first, we need to talk."

"About what, exactly?" Shepard asked.

Nihlus turned to a now activated holo-screen. "Eden Prime. An interesting world, in my opinion. They say it's quite beautiful."

"In my opinion, it's a paradise." Shepard explained.

"Exactly." Nihlus agreed. "Serene. Tranquil. Safe. It's become quite the symbol for your people, hasn't it?"

Nihlus walked around the comm room as more images of the Human colony appeared. "This not only proves Humanity is up for the task of estabilishing colonies across the galaxy, but it proves they can also protect them. And here comes the question: How safe is it really?"

"What?" Shepard asked, instantly turning from the holo-screen to Nihlus.

"Humans are still newcomers to galactic society." Nihlus informed. "Shepard, you know that the galaxy is a dangerous place. Have you ever wondered if the Alliance is actually ready for this?"

"I'm sure you've enjoyed your time to talk with the Commander, Nihlus."

Both Nihlus and Shepard turned to the source of the voice: Captain David Anderson.

Anderson walked with a stern expression on his face, turning to the Turian Spectre.

"It's about time we told Shepard what's really going on." He said to Nihlus. In reply, Shepard acquired a puzzled expression.

"Our mission here is far more than just a simple shakedown run, Commander." Nihlus admitted.

"Why isn't this surprising?" Shepard mumbled.

"We're actually making a covert pick-up on Eden Prime." Anderson explained. "That's why the stealth systems are operational."

"Okay..." Shepard stated, satisfied with knowing what the true mission was. "What exactly is the payload, sir?"

"A research team near Constant has unearthed some kind of beacon while on an excavation." The Captain explained. "That beacon was of Prothean origin."

Shepard's eyebrows shot up at the revelation. A Prothean beacon was certainly a valuable payload. _With something like this, all this secrecy was definitely necessary._

"As you can see, this is a big discovery." Anderson said. "The last time Humanity made such a discovery, it was back on Mars. And it jumped our technology forward three centuries. Unfortunately, Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle anything like this. As such, we must retrieve the beacon and take it back for the Citadel for proper study."

"It's obvious that this goes way beyond human interests, Shepard." Nihlus stated. "This discovery may be capable of affecting every species in Citadel Space."

"One more question: Are we actually expecting trouble?" Shepard asked.

Nihlus started walking towards him. "I'm always expecting trouble, Shepard."

"And there's still more." Anderson stepped in. "Nihlus isn't here just for the beacon. He is also on this ship to evaluate you."

"No wonder I found him always bumping into me in the last days before the Normandy took off." Shepard stated.

"The Alliance has been pushing for this for a very long time, Commander." Anderson informed. "Humanity wants a larger role in shaping the galaxy's policy. We want more say with the Council."

"Spectres represent the Council's power and authority." Nihlus informed. "Accepting a Human in their ranks would be invaluable for your people."

"It would show how far the Alliance has come." Anderson proceeded.

"You survived a Thresher Maw attack on Akuze, defended the colony of Elysium from the Batarians until reinforcements arrived, and led a retaliatory attack on Torfan." Nihlus said. "These three occurrences show that you are a valuable candidate for the first Human Spectre. And they're also the reason why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres."

"You'll just need to tell me what to do, and I'll do my best." Shepard commented.

"I need to see your skills in person, Commander." Nihlus explained. "Eden Prime is going to be the first of several missions together."

"Commander," Anderson started speaking, "you will lead the ground team. You must secure the beacon, and get it to the ship ASAP. Nihlus is going to accompany you for the mission."

"Just give the word, Captain." Shepard stated.

"We should arrive at Eden Prime at any mo—" Anderson started to say, only to be interrupted by Joker's voice over the comms: "Captain, we've got trouble! A transmission has just arrived here from Eden Prime, it's hell down there!"

"What?" Shepard asked.

"Put it on screen, now!" Anderson barked.

Almost immediately, the holo-screen lit up, showing a feed coming from an Alliance soldier's helmet. The first thing noticeable was that Joker was right: it _was_ hell down there.

Eden Prime's sky was dark. Many soldiers were firing at several figures: Turians, Krogan, Asari, Batarians, all of them firing back. One of the Krogan reached for a grenade launcher in his back and fired it, knocking the soldier and many others down to the ground. One of the soldiers that wasn't hit ran up to the soldier with the helmet feed.

"This is Corporal Kevin Richards!" The soldier screamed. "We are under attack by mercenaries, took heavy casualties! I repeat: heavy casualties!" A loud explosion boomed throughout the battlefield. "AAAGH! We need evac! They came out of nowhere, we need evac!"

Almost as if on cue, a loud _bang_ was heard, and Corporal Richards' head exploded in a shower of blood. The soldier with the helmet feed looked at the mercenary assailants, then at the sky.

A gigantic ship was there. It resembled a cuttlefish, with many lights coursing through its armor. Red lightning crackled around it. Then, a loud humming sound reverberated, the enormous ship being the only plausible source.

After that, the video feed stopped.

"Strange." Joker said.

"What?" Anderson asked.

"Everything cuts out after the hum." Joker explained. "Like, no comm traffic at all, it just goes dead."

"Reverse and hold at 38.5, now." Anderson ordered.

The image of the gigantic ship appeared. Even though it was just an image, Shepard could feel like it was watching them.

"Status report!" Anderson said.

"Seventeen minutes out, Captain." Joker replied. "This is the only Alliance ship present in the area."

"Take us in." Anderson ordered. "This mission is getting more complicated."

"A small strike team is capable of moving quickly without drawing attention." Nihlus explained. "It's our best chance to secure the beacon."

"Then grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold." Anderson said.

Nihlus complied and walked out of the room. Anderson then turned to Shepard. "Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Commander. You're going in."

* * *

"Jenkins, arm up and head for the cargo bay, double-time!" Shepard barked. The young Corporal saluted in reply, then ran straight to his locker. Before Shepard reached the bridge, Kaidan was already walking towards him.

"I saw the transmision." The Lieutenant explained. "Figured I'd be of help in securing the beacon and killing the mercs."

"You're damn right." Shepard replied with a smile. "Now let's go." The two figures hurried to the elevator. When they arrived at their lockers, Jenkins was already geared up. He saluted at the two soldiers, both higher-ranked than him. The two headed towards their lockers and put on their armors (But Shepard only needed to put the helmet.) After both soldiers armed themselves, the elevator opened up again, and Anderson came out.

"Your team's the muscle in this op, Commander." Anderson explained. "Your mission is to go in heavy and head straight for the dig site."

"Captain, what about survivors?" Kaidan asked.

"That's a secondary objective." Anderson replied. The cargo bay opened, the sound of the wind forcing the Captain to speak louder. "Consider the beacon your top priority!"

"Approaching drop point 1." Joker said over the comms.

Jenkins looked to his left, seeing Nihlus approaching them.

"You coming with us, Nihlus?" The Corporal asked.

The Spectre looked at his shotgun. "I move faster on my own!" After speaking, he ran towards the cargo bay's exit, jumping into the field. Anderson then turned back to Shepard and his team.

"Nihlus is going to scout out ahead." The Captain explained. "He will feed you status reports towards the mission, but otherwise, I want complete radio silence."

"He can count on us, Captain!" Shepard stated.

"The mission's up to you, Shepard!" Anderson said. "Good luck!"

"Approaching drop point 2." Joker's voice chimed in. It was time for Shepard to move.

They saw a plain grassy area, which was now going to be their drop point. Shepard was the first to jump, his Avenger assault rifle readied for battle. Kaidan was next, followed immediately by Jenkins. Once all three were in the field, the Normandy flew high into the now reddish sky of Eden Prime, disappearing from sight.

Kaidan turned to the scenery behind him: towers literally covered on fire, smoke rising from crater-like formations.

"My God... " He muttered. Shepard and Jenkins turned as well.

"There's no time to watch the ruined scenery." Shepard stated. "We're here to find the beacon ASAP."

"Right." Kaidan replied.

The trio moved towards a narrow path littered with big rocks, that belonged to the small mountain they had landed on. Two Batarians and a Turian were there.

"Alliance!" The Turian barked, reaching for his rifle. Kaidan, however, was quicker. He activated his Omni-Tool, and aimed at the Turian mercenary. A Cryo Blast erupted from the tool, the cold projectile heading straight for the Turian. As soon as it touched the poor mercenary, he froze instantly. The Alliance scientists knew that anyone hit with a Cryo Blast would experience severe trauma, as blood vessels would constrict and frozen blood would expand, creating a painful struggle between both. The frozen tissue could occasionally shatter.

However, Kaidan wasn't going to wait. He aimed his Predator pistol at the Turian and fired. One shot was enough to shatter the frozen Turian.

The two Batarians reacted quickly, one of them opening fire with his assault rifle as the other activated his own Omni-Tool. This particular tool had a set of flechette-like projectiles. Shepard grunted as he recognized the ballistic blade modification popular with Batarian mercs and the Hegemony.

"Take cover!" He screamed.

Kaidan reached for cover instantly. Jenkins was a little slower, but the deadly blades missed him by an inch. As the Batarian attempted to use another Omni-Tool, Shepard took the time to fire a Throw blast from his hand. He had aimed for a space left of the Batarian so that the blast would home in on him and throw him down some long feet down.

It worked.

As the Batarian fell down to the ground below, the first one realized that he was alone. Jenkins killed him with a spray of bullets from his assault rifle.

A sniper shot's sound got the squad's attention, followed shortly by Nihlus' voice over comms:

"This place has been hit very hard, Shepard. There are hostiles everywhere, just had to kill one of them. Keep your guard up." It was all he said.

"Okay... " Kaidan began.

"It was him who fired that shot, alright." Shepard stated. "Let's move."

The trio passed under a small arch, and then they found themselves in a maze of trees. Multiple Asari and Krogan were patrolling, as well as few Turians and even fewer Batarians.

"Damn it." Shepard murmured. "We're gonna have to find a way past them without drawing attention." He looked everywhere, until he found a small 'tunnel' made of roots. They were thick enough to hide them, and while it may not take them the whole way through, it would help them a great deal.

"And I think I've found part of it." He said with a devilish grin. He approached the entrance, and began crawling. Kaidan and Jenkins looked at each other, then followed the Commander into the root 'tunnel'.

Halfway through the path, Shepard began hearing a sound. He stopped and looked for its source: A Batarian, clad in golden and blue armor, was speaking with a Krogan. The Krogan had a different armor: It was black, with a pattern comprised of green lights. Shepard deduced that the Krogan was in charge.

"All soldiers have been placed within the radius estabilished by the boss." The Batarian said.

_Damn it._ That meant the Krogan wasn't the boss.

"Good." The Krogan replied. "I'll relocate half the soldiers here to reinforce our forces near the dig site, you included, so move out now."

"Right." The Batarian complied before moving away. The Krogan inspected the environment for a while, and then walked away.

"What the hell does that mean?" Jenkins murmured.

"They must be here for the beacon." Shepard replied. "This is now a race for the damned beacon, and we must get to it first. Let's move it now!" With this, he began crawling much faster, but it wasn't long before they reached the end of the 'tunnel'. Now they were forced to walk around and risk being seen.

"All right, listen." He said. "I'll lead the way, taking cover in that tree." He pointed to a giant and thick tree. "Once I find another tree or a rock, Kaidan's going to take cover in the tree, and then Jenkins when I change cover for a third time. Got it?"

"Got it." Kaidan replied.

"Me too." Jenkins followed.

"Good." Shepard said. "At three... One... Two... Three!"

He sprinted as fast as he could towards the thick tree. When he reached the tree, he noted with satisfaction that Kaidan was ready to move. He looked around, quickly spotting a big enough rock. He looked back at Kaidan and gestured with his fingers, to avoid detection. He counted to three, and as soon as he sprinted to the rock, Kaidan ran towards the tree and Jenkins crawled to the end of the 'tunnel'.

Shepard spotted a thicker tree than the one before. He lifted his hand again and counted to three. Then, he ran as fast as he could towards the tree. Kaidan immediately took cover on the rock, and Jenkins sprinted towards the first tree.

Shepard, satisfied to see his squad mates in cover, looked around. Nothing could be seen that would serve as cover.

_Fuck. It can't be... wait._

The tree was very large. It was possible that the next suitable cover lied behind the tree. Shepard quickly took a peek and saw another rock. And this time, it looked like there was a way out. _Good._

He turned back to Kaidan, raised his hand, and counted to three. When he finished, he immediately ran towards the rock, with Kaidan taking cover in the tree, as well as Jenkins sprinting towards the first rock.

Shepard quickly gestured to Kaidan to warn Jenkins to run towards the second rock. The Lieutenant, understanding the Commander's gestures, warned Jenkins.

The Commander rose his hand again and counted to three. This time, both Kaidan and Jenkins sprinted to his position. When both of them joined Shepard, he said: "Okay, now that we're all together, we need to get the hell out of here and outsmart the mercs searching for the relic. Let's move!"

The three ran through the only path they had, a rocky path that took them down the small mountain. When they arrived at the end, they spotted something that made them flinch.

A Krogan was carrying a Human in each hand, headed towards a field of strange, small machines, where other mercs were already trying to position more of the colonists in the machines.

"It's easier if they're out cold!" He barked. The other mercs instantly proceeded to knock every colonist unconscious, and place them, their chests facing upwards. Then, a large spike, too big to actually fit any of the machines, erupted from one of them, impaling the colonist placed on its top. The other machines did the same thing.

"No... " Kaidan muttered.

"What the hell are they doing to the colonists?" Jenkins asked, bewildered.

"If we're lucky, whatever they're doing isn't ending anytime soon." Shepard replied. "Open fire."

Kaidan and Jenkins began peppering the mercs with bullets immediately. Some of them fell to the bullets, but the Batarians and the Krogan that was carrying the colonists resisted, and retaliated. Jenkins reached for a grenade and tossed it against the mercs. The explosion damaged many of the impaling devices and killed some of the Batarians, while the rest of them were tossed away by Shepard and Kaidan's combined Throw blasts. Only the Krogan remained.

The Krogan charged towards them, managing to topple Jenkins, but was stopped by Kaidan's Incinerate. Shepard quickly switched to his Katana shotgun, which he always relied on for close-range combat since Elysium. He unloaded a full clip before launching a Cryo Blast. When the Krogan fell, Shepard shot once.

"Okay." The Commander said. "So, now we're free to... FUCK!"

Shepard looked at the remaining impaling devices. The impaled colonists were visibly changing. Their skin was going gray, and metallic tubes with some kind of blue-colored energy were coursing through the corpses. Their eyes started glowing blue. Then, the spikes retracted back into the devices, what were once some of the colonists of Eden Prime jumped to the ground.

The undead bodies looked at their surroundings, not taking too long to notice Shepard and his squad.

"Oh, fuck." The Commander cursed upon noticing that the bodies were running towards them. He quickly switched back to the Avenger and began firing, soon followed by Kaidan and Jenkins. Most of them fell, but a lone body began pouncing onto Kaidan. Its body began releasing sparks and glowing blue, culminating in a shockwave that only caught the Lieutenant.

Kaidan, however, wasn't defenseless. He punched the undead body to the ground, then stomping its head repeatedly. When he calmed down, his expression was of pure shock.

"Wh-wh-what the _hell_ was that?" He asked, panicked. "That thing drained my shields!"

"You think _we_ know?" Shepard replied, just as panicked. "Calm down!"

Nihlus' voice came in through the comms immediately.

"Commander." He said. "Found some mercs impaling live colonists on spikes. "Those spikes are transforming them into undead bodies!"

"We know." Shepard replied. "Kaidan just got pounced by one of those things. Apparently, it lets out some kind of shockwave that drains shields."

"What?" Nihlus replied. "That's going to make things harder. Okay, I'm going to find out where the dig site is. I'll contact you as soon as I find anything." He said before turning off the comms. Shepard turned back to his squad.

"Who the hell are these sick people?" Jenkins asked. "I mean, impaling people to create these dead _husks?_ And where the hell did these mercs get that technology?"

"Call me crazy, but I don't think these are just simple mercenaries." Shepard replied. "Or maybe their employer got hi-tech devices, but that's not why we're here. We still have a beacon to find."

Shepard looked around, quickly spotting a smoking set of pre-fabs in the distance. He began walking, followed by Jenkins and a still shocked Kaidan. However, they almost immediately found a small merc squad: a Krogan, three Asari and five Turians. A Turian in blue armor was the first to open fire, using two SMGs to pepper the three-man Alliance squad, but was quickly put down by a Concussive Shot from Shepard and finished off by Jenkins. In retaliation, one of the Asari began glowing with blue witchfire and Pulled the Corporal near her. Kaidan launched a Reave blast at the Asari, slowly sapping her barrier. Shepard contributed to the carnage by firing his Avenger at her, ravaging the rest of her barrier and killing her. A few seconds after she died, Jenkins fell to the ground. The four remaining Turians fired a volley of proximity mines to stagger Shepard and Kaidan, but the Commander Overloaded all of them, rendering them completely useless, while Kaidan approached two of the Turians, punching them in the stomach with two flaming Omni-Tools. The Krogan retaliated by firing a Carnage blast at Kaidan, who dodged it quickly. The blast, however, hit Shepard, taking half his shields. Jenkins rose up to his feet and reached for a grenade, throwing it at the opposition. The grenade's explosion killed another Asari and wounded the Krogan. The last Asari fired a Singularity from its hands, but Kaidan Pulled one of the Turians and ran back to Shepard, followed by Jenkins. They helped the Commander up, who picked up his Avenger, and fired at the Turians, managing to kill one of them before the Krogan began charging towards them. Kaidan tried to Throw him, but the Krogan merely staggered, giving Jenkins and Shepard a brief period of time to open fire on him. Now the Krogan was visibly injured. Kaidan took this chance to unload a full clip of his own Katana into the Krogan's head, killing him.

That only left one Asari and the three remaining Turians, one of them caught in the Singularity. A Turian in black and gold armor Overloaded Jenkins and Shepard's shields, the latter retaliating with a deadly Throw blast to the head. The strength of the blast snapped the Turian's neck, and sent him flying a few meters before his now lifeless body crashed into the ground. The Asari and the Turian that wasn't caught by the Singularity opened fire on them. Kaidan launched a Throw blast at the Turian trapped in the Singularity. The mix of Biotics created an explosion that took the second-to-last Turian's life away. Shepard launched an Incinerate blast at the Asari, who died from the impact. The last Turian was finished off by Jenkins's Katana.

"Niiiiice." Shepard said, looking at the dead bodies. "Hope they don´t mind if we grab some of their gear." He looked down at the dead blue-armored Turian. He was equipped with two Shuriken SMG's and a Mantis sniper rifle. Both of those were weapons he didn't have. He quickly grabbed one of the Shurikens and the Mantis. Jenkins picked up the Krogan's Raider shotgun. Kaidan, however, didn't pick up anything.

"Okay, we're moving!" Shepard said.

On the way to the pre-fabs, they spotted a lot of dead Alliance soldiers, as well as critically wounded mercs that were focused on making it out alive (but were shot to death by Shepard) and more of the undead creatures, or Husks, as Jenkins called them. _Fitting name, actually._

When they arrived at the pre-fabs, they noticed two things. First, they had just entered the Constant suburbs. Second, they spotted a lone female Alliance soldier running away from some Batarian mercs who looked very injured, and at Shepard's direction. Suddenly, she stopped and opened fire at the Batarians, both of them succumbing to their wounds. Shepard started running towards her as some Turians and a Krogan appeared, all of them with visible, but relatively minor injuries. The soldier reached for a grenade and tossed it at the mercs. When it exploded, all of the Turians were covered in flames, the Krogan having begun charging towards the group.

Shepard quickly fired a Concussive Shot, followed by a Warp blast. The Krogan took the Concussive Shot in the leg, his sudden fall helping him evade the Warp blast that hit two of the burning Turians instead, killing them. Jenkins quickly approached the Krogan, firing the Raider and emptying a full clip into the Krogan's head. The remaining Turians successfully shrugged off the flames and opened fire on the four soldiers, to which Kaidan countered with a Cryo Blast. One of the Turians was hit by the ice-cold projectile, freezing and consequently torn to pieces by Shepard.

The three remaining Turians were quickly dealt with when the soldier tossed another one of her modified grenades at them, who catched fire and were blown to bits and pieces by Shepard's Carnage blast. She stood up and saluted at the Commander.

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, of the 212." She introduced herself. "Are you in charge here, sir?"

_Williams?_ Shepard recognized that name. _Is she related wth General Williams?_ General Williams became known for surrendering the Alliance colony of Shanxi to the Batarian forces 45 years ago, during the Alliance-Hegemony war. After the war ended, a kind of social stygma towards him and his family was born.

"Commander John Shepard, Alliance Navy." Shepard replied. "Are you wounded, Williams?"

"Nothing serious, it's just a few scrapes and burns." Ashley Williams replied. "But the others, well, they weren't so lucky..."

"What do you mean?" The Commander questioned.

"We were patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit." The Gunnery Chief explained. "The 212 and the 242 tried to get off a distress call, but the mercs managed to cut off our communications. It's been a fight for my life ever since."

"What happened to them?" Kaidan asked.

"Out of the 212, I'm the only one who made it." Ashley explained. "The 242 was way luckier. I think there are still some soldiers alive in that unit."

"That's always good news." Jenkins commented. Shepard, after looking at him with a humored look on his face, turned back to Ashley.

"Williams, we were sent here because a research team here unearthed a Prothean beacon." The Commander explained. "Did you know about that, do you know where it is?"

"The bea... yes!" Ashley replied. I remember that the 232 was sent to watch over and protect the scientists responsible for basic research! I just hope their unit fared better than mine."

"Do you know where it is?" Shepard asked, hopeful that they were getting somewhere.

"Yes." Ashley replied. "You have to pick a tram on the spaceport up ahead. There's another area of the city where the Prothean bunker was discovered. If the beacon's still there, I can take you."

Almost as if on cue, Nihlus chose that time to contact Shepard again.

"Shepard." He said. "Spotted a small spaceport near Constant. I'm going to check it out."

"Right." The Commander replied. "I'm going to send one of my men to scout ahead and meet you there."

"Good." The Spectre stated. "I'll wait for your squad member." He said before turning off his comms. Shepard turned to Jenkins.

"Corporal, you're going to scout out ahead and head straight for the spaceport." Shepard said. "Nihlus will wait for you there. Evade any conflict."

"Aye-aye." Jenkins replied, saluting for a while before heading off. Shepard looked at him for a few moments before turning back to Ashley. The Gunnery Chief was visibly waiting for combat."

"You ready?" The Commander asked.

"Aye-aye, sir." She replied. "It's about time those bastards tasted a little payback." Shepard and Kaidan laughed in response.

"Then, move out!" Shepard barked out before moving, with Kaidan and Ashley following him.

The path was littered with many destroyed pre-fabs. Occasionally, they would spot one or two corpses, or mercs impaling more colonists to create Husks. In those cases, the squad just ran as fast as they could. Eventually, they met a Turian wearing an advanced-looking armor, colored blue. He also noticed them, turning to them with an angry look on his eyes.

However, he only picked up his assault rifle of Turian make and opened fire. Shepard immediately took cover and retaliated with fire from his Avenger. Ashley, in turn, tossed one of her modified grenades at the Turian. The deadly flames, however, only burned the armor, which looked unscratched. The Turian activated a small grenade-like device and threw it at the squad. Instead of an explosion, large arcs of electricity erupted from the device as soon as it hit ground, draining the squad's shields.

"Damn it!" Shepard screamed as he decided to use his Mantis sniper rifle. At close range, it wasn't very encouraged. _But fuck that fact! We might end up dead if I don't use it!_ He aimed at the Turian's head, and pulled the trigger.

The Turian's head exploded in a gory mess of flesh and blue blood.

"Whoa-ho!" Shepard laughed. "Now we're getting somewhere!"

"Damn." Kaidan commented, impressed. "Given our equipment for now, looks like the only rule for dealing for guys like him is a perfect headshot!"

"Damn right." Shepard agreed. "Let's leave him right here where he is and push forward."

The squad moved forward, the quick defeat of the Turian elite soldier giving them a boost of morale. Along the way, they found more elite Turians, killing them the exact same way.

Eventually, they found a dirt path that went down towards a complex with a small platform, just big enough for small cargo freighters to land. It had to be the spaceport. Several habitational pre-fabs were also surrounding the complex.

"Commander." Jenkins' voice chimed in through the comms. "I've arrived at the spaceport, and now I'm hiding to evade further conflicts."

"OK." Shepard replied. "I've spotted several pre-fabs. I'm going to investigate them."

"Right. Jenkins out."

The squad approached the nearest pre-fab. It was closed.

"Looks like the security lock's engaged." Kaidan commented. "If I can hack through it, I may be able to open the door."

"Do it." Shepard ordered as Kaidan began working on the lock. A few seconds later, it was done. The door opened, allowing Shepard to enter and look at the fab's sole occupants: three colonists, two man and a woman, who were rather scared.

"We're not armed, we promise!" The man in the middle stated.

"I-i-is it safe?" The woman asked. "Are they gone?"

"Most of them." Shepard assured.

"Thank God." The second man replied. "You see, we were just working on the colony's crops after we heard about that Prothean beacon, when this massive ship comes out of nowhere, along with all those mercs! If it wasn't for this pre-fab, we would be surely found."

"When it appeared, I thought it was all over for us!" The woman said.

"Yeah." The first man replied. "It showed up right before the mercs. It looked like trouble, so we ran for the shed."

"Cole, tell them about that noise." The woman suggested.

"Yeah, you're right." The first man, Cole, replied. "The ship was emitting some kind of sound, like the shriek of the damned. And it appeared to emanate this odd feeling, that hummed in our heads."

"Right." Shepard commented. "Do you know anything about some scientists that could have watched over the excavation after the beacon was discovered?"

"Yeah." The second man answered. "Doctors Manuel Cayce and Ilsa Warren. We saw them hiding up in that shed up ahead." He pointed at the pre-fab in question. "But... what the hell _are_ those things near the fab?" Shepard looked and cursed after he saw more of the strange impaling devices, with fully developed Husks.

"Devices used for creating cybernetic zombies." Shepard explained. "Get back to the pre-fab. We can handle this."

Cole and the two other farmers went back to their pre-fab, as Shepard armed up and approached the spikes. Sure enough, they began retracting back into the devices, the Husks coming to life with a shining blue light emanating from their cybernetics. With a loud growl, the Husks charged at the squad, who instantly opened fire, reducing the number of Husks. Three of them got close enough to attack them with EMP shockwaves, but were insantly killed when Shepard Threw them back into the devices as Ashley tossed one of her grenades, consuming the Husks instantly.

"Nice." Shepard said. "Now let's hack the security lock here... got it!"

The door quickly opened, revealing a man and a woman in scientist uniforms. The man seemed particularly troubled. _Maybe the poor guy got very affected by that feeling the farmers mentioned._

"Thank God!" The woman said, relieved. "Humans, finally."

"Hurrry!" The man muttered. "Close the door before they come back!" Ashley quickly closed the door.

"Dr. Warren?" The Commander asked.

"Yes, I am." She replied.

"Good." Shepard said. "Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy. We're here to find the Prothean beacon you found."

"As far as I know, it's still in the bunker, but if the mercs are already there... " She said. "Well, at least some colonists are safe."

"No one is safe!" The man, who Shepard now concluded to be Dr. Manuel, stepped in. "Our age will end soon! Then, all that will remain is fire and darkness! The end is coming. And its vanguards have arrived!"

"I'm sorry." Dr. Warren stated. "Dr. Manuel is a brilliant man, but with such a brilliant mind, came a bit of 'madness.' She said the last word with fingerquotes.

"So what can you tell me about the attack?" Shepard asked.

"It was just too fast." Dr. Warren explained. "One second, we were gathering all of our equipment, the next we were running for the shed as the mercs began killing everyone in sight."

"The agents of the end!" Dr. Manuel said. "They are bringers of darkness, and the heralds of extinction."

"The soldiers assigned to watch over the excavation protected us all the way, and all of them got killed." Dr. Warren continued. "We heard the battle going on outside, the gunfire, the screams... We thought it would never end."

"Have you noticed a Turian around here?" Shepard asked again.

"Yes!" Dr. Manuel quickly answered. "The leader, armor painted red with blood. He was here before his army attacked."

"It can't be!" Kaidan replied. "Nihlus was with us back on the Normandy before the attack began. Manuel must be wrong."

"There was a Turian leading the attack, yes." Dr. Warren stated. "But if the Turian you're looking has the facial markings most of them have, then I'm sorry, but I haven't seen him."

"Right." Shepard replied. "So, it's not our Turian. But what about the beacon? What can you tell me about it?"

"It looks like a data module from a galaxy-wide communication network." Dr. Warren explained. "It's rather well preserved. It could be the greatest scientific discovery in our lifetime! Medical advances, new technology, there could be anything stored inside that beacon!"

"We have unearthed the beast's heart, we have unleashed the darkness!" Dr. Manuel stated.

"Manuel, please, stop it!" Dr. Warren said, visibly annoyed. "Anyway, the beacon wasn't the only thing we discovered."

"What?" Shepard asked, surprised.

"Yes." She continued. "We found a fully functional stasis pod as well. If we're right about it, it may containt the preserved remains of a Prothean. That would be a priceless discovery!"

The revelation left Shepard shocked. A preserved Prothean, possibly even alive, was a very wanted discovery. However, now that he thought about it, it could provide one more reason or the mercenary attack.

"Tell me more." The Commander said.

* * *

_Okay, looks like it's safe now._

Jenkins quickly crawled out of his hiding spot. When he first reached the spaceport, part of it was crawling with mercs. Their conversations were perfectly audible, but now, it was silent.

Still, that didn't mean he was just going to walk around like it was nothing. He took cover and hid multiple times to evade contact with any mercenary that could still be around until he reached the landing platform.

Once he reached the platform, however, he heard something that made him turn to its source.

"Human."

A lone Turian de-cloaked instantly. He was taller than most Turians were, and was wearing an advanced silver armor. Jenkins noted with disgust that the Turian's armor was red in some spots due to Human blood.

"Who are you?" The Corporal asked. "Are the mercs yours?"

The Turian laughed in response. "Who am I is not of your concern. About the mercenaries, yes, I hired them all."

"What the hell do you want?" Jenkins screamed.

"I want the information stored within the beacon." The Turian explained. "Information none of you can understand. Information that will help in my mission."

Suddenly, the Turian's hands became surrounded with biotic energy, which condensated itself to form a large leash, one in each hand.

"Information you won't live to see!" The Turian screamed, as one of the leashes wrapped around Jenkins' leg. The young Corporal tried to resist, but it was futile. The Turian pulled Jenkins, who started flying towards him.

The last things Jenkins saw were the Turian grabbing his own pistol, aiming it at his head, and the _flash._

Then, the world went dark.

* * *

"Okay, thanks for the information, Doctor." Shepard finished. Now, he was going to contact Jenkins. He reached for his communicator in his helmet.

"Jenkins, this is Shepard." The Commander said. "How's the situation?"

No response.

"Jenkins, this is Commander Shepard. Report!"

Still no answer.

"Damn it!" He said as he turned off the comms. "What happened to him?" He asked as he left the shed. "Jenkins might be a little immature, but he knows better than not to... oh, no."

He had just found a body on the landing platform. At that distance, it looked like the head was on a pool of blood. There was someone else crouching near the body to turn it, like the person wanted to see it alive.

"No... no no no no..." He kept saying. It couldn't be. He quickly ran towards the spaceport to confirm his suspicions. His insides almost jumped literally when he found Corporal Richard Jenkins' dead body, with a single shot to his head. Nihlus was crouched near the body when he looked up at the Commander.

"Shepard." He said, worried. "I don't know how... I just found his body lying right here!"

"Shut up." Ashley brusquely interrupted. "You're just checking if you managed to kill him sucessfully, aren't you?"

"Ashley, ENOUGH!" Shepard screamed. "Nihlus is a god-damned Spectre, and I know he wouldn't kill Jenkins, whatever the reason."

"He's right!"

Everybody turned to the source of the voice. A lone man appeared from behind a few crates, and was walking nervously.

"This Turian didn't kill this guy." The man explained. "Another Turian killed him."

"Who was him?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know, he never said his name!" The man replied. "But I can describe him. He had silver scales, and his armor was equally silver. His... horns? Hell, I don't know if it is horns, but the ones on the sides are longer, and look thinner.

Nihlus was looking worried. It didn't take long for Shepard to notice.

"You okay?" He asked.

"The description." The Turian Spectre replied. "It sounds much like my mentor. Saren Arterius."

"No offense, Nihlus, but there's still a possibility that's him." Kaidan stated.

"Maybe. But I shouldn't start worrying myself about tha—"

"Found more survivors!" Another voice said, also belonging to a Human.

When Shepard turned to the direction from where the voice came from, which was from further into the spaceport, he was pleased to see a group of Alliance soldiers approaching. The apparent leader of the group was Afro-American, and was running towards Shepard.

"Lieutenant Jacob Taylor of the 242." The man introduced himself after saluting.

"Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy." Shepard replied. "We were sent here to retrieve the Prothean beacon found here."

"Really? About that... " Jacob stated. "Listen, Commander, we found someone who we think may be the leader of the mercenary forces here. He's a Turian."

"Probably the same who killed Jenkins." Kaidan commented, pointing at the dead body.

"What?" Jacob looked at Jenkins' body. "Well, then it looks like you got a chance to avenge him, Commander. He picked up a tram to the dig site, where the Prothean bunker's located, but not before sending some mercs to kill half our soldiers and guard the path. Given your career, it's probable that you'll manage to get there safely."

"Right." Shepard replied. "Ashley, Kaidan, arm up!"

"I'm staying here with the Lieutenant." Nihlus stated. "If more forces appear, it'll be easier to defend ourselves."

"All right." Shepard said before moving out. "But Nihlus, when we find the beacon, we'll contact you."

Almost immediately, the squad ran into a Batarian four-man squad. Shepard instantly recognized the golden and blue-armored Batarian who was speaking with the Krogan back at the forest.

"Open fire!" The Batarian screamed, as two of his squad began showering Shepard with bullets, the other one activating his Omni-Tool to prepare a set of ballistic blades and was promptly killed by Shepard, as Kaidan launched a Reave blast at a Batarian with crimson armor. Another of the Batarians, in green, was smart enough to retreat to a farther away position and provide cover fire for his comrades. However, he has killed by Ashley's Avenger. The Batarian hit by the Reave blast survived, but was weakened enough to be killed by Shepard.

However, the Batarian in golden/blue armor began running, jumping to an upper area and running until he was out of the squad's line of sight.

"Don't worry." Shepard reassured. "He won't be much of a problem."

"Right..." Ashley replied.

They progressed through the spaceport walkways, killing as many mercs as they could, until they arrived at the tram station, guarded by two Krogan.

"Ooookay, this might be a little challenge." Shepard commented before turning to Kaidan. "Kaidan, prepare to Throw the Krogan with the Revenant rifle. He's the biggest threat. Then, Ashley and I will snipe at the other Krogan's head."

"Got it." Kaidan replied, already glowing with biotic witchfire. In an instant, he jumped ou of coved and launched the Throw blast at the Krogan in question, who staggered a little before falling into the tram tracks. The Krogan looked to his fellow soldier before turning to the squad's direction, Claymore shotgun ready. However, it was no match for Shepard and Ashley, especially when they sniped the Krogan's head from afar.

"All right, now let's get to the tram!" Shepard ordered as he began running.

On the other side of the tram's path, a Turian oversaw his top mercenaries escort him to the Prothean bunker, with a stern expression on his face.

He and his soldies found the elevator that would take them to the beacon and the information stored within it. As it descended, he began thinking about how his life got him there. He was about to bring salvation to the entire galaxy. A few losses were acceptable.

Finally, they arrived at the bunker, the most dominant feature being the beacon. The Turian calmly approached it, knowing that his victory there would be certain. Suddenly, he was lifted off the ground, his mind filled with images mainly of death and destruction. But among those two lied the information he needed. Then, as quickly as it began, it ended. He landed graciously, and returned to the elevator.

On the way up, he ordered: "Set the charges, destroy the entire colony. But still, leave a few soldiers and Husks behind. In case someone decides to step in and deactivate them."

"Look!" Kaidan said, pointing at a lone figure in the distance.

A small figure, probably an Asari, was tinkering with a device that looked a lot like a bomb. In response, Ashley grabbed her Mantis and aimed it at the Asari's head. Two shots were enough to put her out. When they got out, they quickly inspected the bomb.

"It's an antimatter charge!" Ashley said, shocked. "The mercs must have planted them!"

"Then we'll shut them down!" Shepard replied, already sprinting to the bomb and beginning to deactivate it. Two Turians, noting the Commander, opened fire. "I need cover fire!" Shepard barked.

Ashley found a small switch in her Avenger rifle and activated it. In a second, green holograms appeared all over it, showing that her rifle was equipped with a Shredder module. She instantly opened fire, instanly downing one of the Turians and softening up a second one for Kaidan to finish him off.

"Got it! It's disabled!" Shepard said, before his Omni-Tool started beeping. As he activated it, he saw a map detailing his position, a yellow dot near his position vanishing, and three more dots.

"Okay, so it's one bomb down, three to go!" He said. "I'm going for the next one, follow me!"

He charged through the ramps and the walkways quickly, and arrived near the second bomb in no time. Three Asari and three Batarians were guarding this bomb, one of the latter being Pulled by Shepard. As the others opened fire, Shepard saw Ashley tossing a grenade into the enemy squad, taking an Asari and another Batarian out. The battle was now rather lenghty, as Shepard had to help in killing the remaining three enemies after deactivating the second bomb. Then, he turned to Kaidan.

"You deactivate the other two bombs, while I cover you, now." He ordered, to which Kaidan nodded in response. Shepard, however, was still leading the way, and cursed when he spotted a Krogan, five Turians, four Batarians and also Husks guarding the third bomb.

"You'll need to help us for a little bit before working on that bomb." The Commander stated. Kaidan, in response, Threw most of the Husks at the mercs. The Husks seemed to react while in proximity with any organic life, as they began clawing at the mercs. Shepard could only look, amazed, at Kaidan had done in a matter of seconds.

"Okayyyy... " He muttered. "Go now, before our distraction is dead."

Kaidan quickly ran down the ramp to the bomb and began tinkering with the bomb's circuits and buttons. In a matter of seconds, he was done.

"Hell yeah!" Shepard barked out. "One more, and we're done here!"

They went back through the ramp to get easier access to the final bomb, and noted with satisfaction that the mercs guarding the final bomb were heading off to help their comrades against the Husks. Kaidan quickly sprinted to the last bomb, while Shepard and Ashley took cover to watch if the mercs would center their attention on the bomb. However, that wasn't necessary. Kaidan quickly deactivated the last bomb without enemy interference.

"Good... " Shepard commented. "Now, Ashley, where's the Prothean bunker?"

"There should be an elevator that leads to it." The Gunnery Chief explained. She quickly rolled out of cover and looked around until she saw someything behind Kaidan, who was watching the mercs, Avenger aiming at them.

"There." Ashley said, pointing at something Shepard couldn't see. "It's the elevator."

Shepard took cover near Kaidan and looked at the elevator Ashley mentioned. Kaidan was now also looking at it.

"Great." Shepard stated. "Let's go."

The squad moved to the elevator, leaving behind the mercs who were getting decimated by the Husks, whose numbers were also reducing. When the elevator started descending, Shepard began speaking.

"Unbelievable. If Nihlus is right, then it's a Spectre who's leading this mercenary army."

"You know there's also a possibility that it's someone else, don't you, Shepard?" Kaidan asked.

"Yeah." The Commander replied. "But the possibility of having a Spectre as the enemy is... problematic, to say the least."

The elevator suddenly stopped, its door opening. In the center, lied the Prothean beacon, glowing with a green light. Ashley was puzzled.

"Strange." She said. "When they dug it up, it wasn't doing anything like that."

Shepard looked around, quickly spotting the Prothean stasis pod that Dr. Warren mentioned.

"And we've got a Prothean pod, right here." He replied. He quickly activated his comms. "Nihlus, this is Shepard. We've located the beacon, and a Prothean stasis pod. Fully functional."

"Good." The Turian sounded happy at the prospect. "Give me the co-ordinates. I'll transmit them to the Normandy."

"Roger that. Shepard out." He quickly activated his Omni-Tool to send the co-ordinates to Nihlus, while Ashley and Kaidan investigated the beacon.

"You know what's amazing?" Kaidan asked. "This is functional Prothean tech, both the beacon _and_ the pod! It's unbelievable!"

Almost as if on cue, the beacon emitted an energy wave, and both Ashley and Kaidan were levitating towards the beacon. Shepard, without thinking twice, grabbed them both and pulled them away from the beacon. He was sucessful, but now _he_ was being pulled towards the beacon.

"No!" Kaidan screamed. "Don't touch him, it's too dangerous!" He heard the Lieutenant order before his mind was assaulted by images. Disconnected. He heard screams. Explosions. Growls. He saw machines, like the gigantic ship that had attacked the colony. He saw strange figures. He saw them being transformed into monstrosities. He remembered how the mercs transformed Eden Prime's colonists into Husks.

A loud explosion sent him flying. All went dark.

"Damn it!" Kaidan screamed after seeing the beacon get destroyed. Not only was the beacon destroyed, but Shepard was unconscious. Without thinking, he reached for his comms.

"Nihlus, this is Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko!" He screamed. "Shepard's knocked out, and the beacon is destroyed, I repeat, Shepard's knocked out, and the beacon is destroyed!"

"What?" Nihlus asked, surprised.

"We're bringing Shepard and the Prothean pod to the Normandy." Kaidan continued. "Are you at the co-ordinates?"

"So is the Normandy." Nihlus asked.

"Great. Kaidan out." He turned off the comms and turned to Ashley. "Ashley, get the Commander to the elevator, then help me getting the pod there too."

Shortly, Ashley took the Commander to the elevator, then helping Kaidan move the pod. In little time, they were back at the mining facility, where Nihlus and the Normandy were waiting.

* * *

_**So, hope you liked the rebooted Eden Prime mission. Kudos go to Arcian for creating a marvelous reboot.**_

_**See ya.**_


End file.
